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My reasoning is Iran and Iraq do trade together- they are both joined at the hip. I think the recent adjustment to the dinar is in anticipation for the rial to gain value to be closer to the dinar. Once they are near to each other in value then I expect the biggie to happen. I can't see Iran and Iraq revaluing at different times as this would cause trade disparities - this weekend is going to be very telling

I think we witness two rising stars at once - imagine the positive effects that would have on the global economy

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1-26-2016 Newshound Guru OOTW WE KNOW THAT ARAB TRADE AGREEMENT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED AND APPROVAL GIVEN TO ACTIVATE ALL CROSS BORDER TRADE WITHIN ARAB COUNTRIES. HOW MANY COUNTRIES SURROUND IRAQ WITH A CURRENCY OF LOWER VALUE THAN THE DINAR? WELL, OBVIOUSLY, IRAN FOR ONE. IN MY RESEARCH I KEEP RETURNING TO THE CONNECTION BETWEEN IRAQ AND IRAN. THEY DO USE EACH OTHERS CURRENCIES AND IRAN IS THEIR PRIMARY TRADE PARTNER. SO...THIS BEGS THE QUESTION FOR ME (OVER AND OVER) DO WE HAVE TO SEE A CHANGE IN IRAN'S ECONOMY (ALSO MONETARY POLICY) IN ORDER TO SEE CHANGE IN THE DINAR?

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My reasoning is Iran and Iraq do trade together- they are both joined at the hip. I think the recent adjustment to the dinar is in anticipation for the rial to gain value to be closer to the dinar. Once they are near to each other in value then I expect the biggie to happen. I can't see Iran and Iraq revaluing at different times as this would cause trade disparities - this weekend is going to be very telling

I think we witness two rising stars at once - imagine the positive effects that would have on the global economy

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I'm wondering wouldn't you normally had posted this latest news in the "World Econmony" thread? What is your take with Iran ready to hit the global market apparently this weekend in relation with the Iraqi Dinar? Do you believe there's somewhat of an influence for Iraq to come out all so suddenly? Some of us feel so, what do you think?

I can't shake the sudden feeling ..........that something wild is about to happen and it's just around the corner .....

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Sanction removal unveils Iran currency hopes By: Farah Khalique Published on: Thursday, January 28, 2016 Iran is emerging from the shadows to re-establish itself as a prime player in the Middle East. Moves are afoot to rid the country of its black-market exchange rate and develop a working currency forward market.

Iranians thought this day would never come – crippling economic sanctions have been lifted, Western countries are welcoming trade delegates from Tehran to talk business and president Hassan Rouhani is signing billion-dollar deals for Iran to buy jets and manufacture cars. The future looks brighter for Iran and has piqued the interest of international investors. Switch on money tap Dominic Bokor-Ingram, portfolio adviser at Charlemagne Capital, believes "a lot" of investment is going to flow into the country, as Iranian companies start spending once again on capital expenditure. "They have been starved of an export route, but Iran manufactures things the rest of the region needs," he says. "Now that they can export again, we will see companies investing – that will be a combination of foreign money and also domestic money." Charlemagne Capital has teamed up with Iranian investment firm Turquoise Partners to launch the Cyprus-domiciled Turquoise Variable Capital Investment Fund. Since its launch in mid-December, the fund has assets under management of around €48 million from European and UK investors and is up almost 14%, according to Bokor-Ingram. Sky-high yields are what makes Iran attractive to investors – even just depositing funds in an Iranian bank account can yield real returns of 20%, due to high interest rates. Bond yields are nudging 24%, says Bokor-Ingram, and a dedicated wealth manager can achieve returns of about 30%, says Emad Mostaque, strategist at emerging markets (EM) research consultancy Ecstrat. Stable rial The simple carry trade – borrowing in a currency with low interest rates such as US dollars and investing in higher yielding Iranian securities – works only as long as the exchange rate remains constant. Oil revenues account for around 10% of GDP. Renaissance Capital forecasts a total $54 billion of export receipts and capital inflows to Iran in 2016, and perhaps another $10 billion in 2017, which it predicts will counteract falling oil prices. It also reckons the 8% annual average target of the government’s 2016-21 five-year plan might be achievable. Mostaque predicts the Iranian rial will remain stable, in contrast to neighbouring oil-producing countries whose currencies have come under pressure as the price of oil plunges to new lows. Iran has a diversified economy and is capable of exporting a wide category of goods, from steel, petrochemicals and fertilizers to pistachios, saffron and, of course, Persian rugs. However, market participants agree the rial's appreciation prospects are poor, and it might even fall in value. Ramin Rabii, chief executive officer at Turquoise Partners, believes it will take a few years before there is significant foreign direct investment in Iran, due to years of sanctions and local bureaucracy. "Demand for local currency from foreigners will not be that significant," he says. "There will be some demand, but not to the point that [it can appreciate] in the next few months or years." The drop in commodity prices is putting Iran's budget under pressure, despite its diversified economy, and it might even be in the interest of the government to devalue the rial, predicts Rabii. Clean up exchange rate Years of punishing sanctions put pressure on the rial, and led to a black-market exchange rate. The official exchange rate, as set by the Central Bank of Iran, is approximately 30,000 rials to the dollar, but the black-market rate is closer to 36,000. The next step for Iran is to eliminate this dual system, says Rabii. "Now, the official policy of the central bank is to once again have a single rate after sanctions are lifted," he says. "In the first six months post-sanction, [it wants to] try to bring the two rates together. Whether the official rate moves up or the free rate move down, nobody knows." Charlie Robertson, EM specialist at Renaissance Capital and head of the macro-strategy unit, estimates they could align at 32,000 to 33,000. Furthermore, there is talk of the central bank developing a currency forward market. A well-functioning derivatives market can have a stabilizing effect on a currency and attract foreign investors, but Rabii says this has been in the works for a while. "They have been talking about it for years – as long as I can remember," he says. "If you ask me how optimistic I am [about this happening] in the next year, I am very pessimistic. This is more of a longer-term trend. It's not going to happen in the short term." Sanction snapback Despite the country's recent progress, investors remain cautious on Iran for a multitude of reasons, says Hasnain Malik, head of frontier markets strategy for MENA and South Asia research at boutique investment bank Exotix. Exotix does not market Iranian securities to its clients. "US sanctions are still there – they are just suspended – and there are significant restrictions from the US institutional investor standpoint from either travelling to Iran or getting through the hurdles to invest in Iran," he says. The threat of Iran breaching the terms of its nuclear agreement and being hit with a "sanction snapback" is a concern. The upcoming US election adds to the uncertainty facing investors – a win for Republican candidate Donald Trump would almost certainly be a loss for US-Iranian relations. Furthermore, it is not yet possible to have sub-custodian arrangements in Iran. Investors have to make do with Iran's Central Securities Depository, but international investors are accustomed to dealing with the local branch of global custodian banks such as HSBC or State Street. It is unlikely there will be a sugar rush of international money flowing into Iran, but market participants estimate between $500 million to $2 billion of foreign money finding its way into Iran over the next year. Source: XE

TEHRAN– The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) would restore its services to Iranian financial institutions by January 31, said Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif.

Seif said there are only some technical issues to be resolved before SWIFT system comes on stream on January 31.

He said, “During the period that west-engineered sanctions were imposed on Iran, SWIFT had not stopped its services to Iran completely, and only some banks had been blocked.”

For Iran to resume business with the global banking world - for the first time since 2012 - its banks need to be linked to overseas lenders on SWIFT.

SWIFT lifted bans on the Iranian banks as the implementation day of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) formally started on January 16.

SWIFT is a global supplier of secure messaging services and interface software to wholesale financial entities. It is a secure private network used by nearly every bank around the world to send payment messages that lead to the transfer of money across international borders.

In early 2012, SWIFT said it had been instructed by the European Council to discontinue its communications services to Iranian financial institutions that are subject to European sanctions. Accordingly, it blocked 30 Iranian banks from using its service thus literally cutting off Iran from the global banking system.

Khandan - approved by the US House of Representatives by a slim majority, the bill restricts the ability of President Barack Obama to lift sanctions under international nuclear Iran agreed after about three weeks from the cancellation of a similar vote. The members agreed the House of Representatives by a majority of 246 votes to 181 votes on the law, according to the agency 'Reuters'. The result of almost identical vote with membership of the party as the Republicans voted to approve while Democrats opposed the law by an overwhelming majority. It is not expected that the legislation becomes law, despite Republican control of the House and Senate in the Congress. Even if the Senate approved the legislation, Obama promised using the presidential veto power (veto), saying that the bill will kill historic nuclear deal. The House of Representatives approved by a slim majority on the legislation last month, but was revoked vote after attending nearly one-third of the House of Representatives late to cast their ballots. The event invalidate the vote in the January 13. In the sixteenth of the same month the US and Iranian authorities announced a complex deal under which the release of four American prisoners with the start of implementation of the nuclear deal. Aides said the Congress had been revoked vote in the House of Representatives because the new President of the Council Paul Ryan was urging members to come to a vote the date and not because of any relationship to the agreement to swap prisoners.

Iran remains prohibited countries to US banks, despite the lifting of a section of the sanctions imposed on the country, the ban also affects non-US banks that traded in dollars.

Tehran: The director of foreign money monitoring office of the US Treasury John Smith "in general, the US President ban still stands." Although US President Barack Obama's administration approved since mid-January to lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran, but it continued to impose a ban on the association of human rights violations and "terrorism."

These sanctions, which defines the penalties "key", prohibiting Americans making any investment extends to Iran, while the lifting of "secondary" sanctions that apply to non-Americans.

Attractive opportunities but

A banker in New York, told AFP on condition of anonymity, "Nothing has changed for us, we are still not able to give any approval or financing for any activity on the Iran link, whether from near or from afar." Pursuant to these sanctions, can not Iranian companies or the Iranian government or the Iranians to open accounts in US banks.

I did not want any of the "JPMorgan Chase" or "Goldman Sachs" or "Morgan Stanley" or "Bank of America" ​​to comment on the issue in response to a call from AFP. Any of the Wall Street firms and does not hide that Iran provides a lot of opportunities, especially they need to build a complete parts of the economy.

Most of the banks and the offices of a law firm hired specialized experts to find out what they can do, and what is not accurate, if the situation became resolving. As it has been the formation of specialized teams on this issue within some banks, such as "JP Morgan Chase." A spokesman for the bank, "Citigroup" Qumran Excellent "We continue to monitor developments in Iran," without adding further details.

Threats

The same caution prevails among the major foreign banks operating in the United States, as it warned foreign funds control office as a "consequent to continue verifying that it does not make any payments or transfers to the dollar affect Iran through US financial institutions."

John Smith that eBay does not allow payments in dollars, said the entity on the link to Iran, threatening punitive measures when you get any wrongdoing. "That means that any person who is not an American mission or make transfers the financial service (on Iran) link may be separated from the US financial system."

In 2014 the US authorities imposed a record fine of nearly nine billion dollars, "BNP Paribas" Bank of carrying out transfers to Iran in dollars on the link. He said the Office of "Clifford Chance", prepared a report for the bank, "JP Morgan", said the Iranian banks to isolate any money for American money and strengthen internal control.

He said that "many of the companies interested in doing business with Iran or investing in (...) may face internal tensions between those who want to seize the opportunities available and others responsible for dealing with risk and compliance with the law."

American Exceptions

The United States identified some exceptions that enclosed precise conditions: the banks can finance or lending companies got a special license from the US Treasury to sell spare parts or maintenance of airliners Iranian aircraft engines. And it got Boeing and GE on these licenses.

The banker said New Yorker "We can also grant credit or financing to companies importing Iranian carpets, food products," such as pistachios and caviar. But even within this framework, Howard Mendelsohn warned of "Kamstol Group," a group that "there remains a large number of risks," he said, adding that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard controls many sectors of the economy, which is included on the US list of organizations "terrorist", which includes 200 entity and individual.

An expert hired by Wall Street on the issue told AFP "it is difficult to discern in Iran who owns what. There is a lack of a fatal transparency, and were not to have that transparency, you are risks that you find yourself dealing with individuals or entities are still subject to sanctions."

In this context, US companies prefer not to engage in business with Iran that tarnished its image, especially since the agreement with Iran over its nuclear program unpopular in the United States, and that the Republican candidates for the White House pledged to review it.

Addressing the annual meeting of Iran’s Central Bank here on Saturday, he said that during years of sanctions banks acted as the veils which carried blood to various parts of the nation’s economy.

He blasted certain acts in the past which resulted in practical looting of the nation of its assets under the pretext of trying to overcome sanctions and said pressures against the Iranian banking system was probably the worst done against the nation.

The President further noted that the country suffered very harsh conditions because of the sanctions enemies imposed against the Iranian economy in all areas including shipping, insurance, banking, precious stones, petrochemical industry and auto industry.

Pointing to the nuclear negotiations between Iran and the 5+1, he said no single country could be found in the world which believed Iran was the loser of the talks.

Even the countries that are not in friendly terms including the evil regime which is busy plotting against Iran admit the point and say Iran has been deceiving the six world powers who were involved in the negotiations, President Rouhani added.

The President said that even in the US those who were against the nuclear deal never say Iran was the loser but rather believe the US was cheated.